How to Develop a Cryptocurrency Wallet

How much do you believe in the potential of cryptocurrencies? For instance, we believe that regular paper money will soon become obsolete. And that is when digital money will come into its full glory – an asset unattached to country and independent of the country’s external and internal economy. These possibilities are why so many developers focused on launching highly profitable products often implement crypto wallets as modern alternatives to traditional bank cards.

In the following article, we will review some tools which could be used to develop those highly profitable solutions, and we will also tell you how to develop a bitcoin wallet app.

General Attributes of a Cryptowallet

A cryptocurrency wallet usually features the following common attributes:

generation of blocks’ addresses;

realization of incoming and outgoing transactions with the attachment to certain blocks’ addresses;

history of transactions (a convenient view);

an ability to customize existing operations after reorganization of previously employed blockchain structure;

a system of transaction fees;

record of the last realized transaction in blockchain.

In order to implement all the above characteristics, you will have to follow a complex set of procedures. Let’s discuss this in more detail below.

Step #1: Selecting Development Tools

The first thing to do is to choose your software tools for the creation of a future cryptocurrency wallet. In particular, the most commonly used solutions are open-source libraries such as Bitcoinj, Blockchain Luxembourg Ltd., and Coinbase. These will provide you with free APIs, as well as the perfect means for cross-platform development.

Blockchain must be the most obvious choice among open-source solutions. With its help you can make a bitcoin wallet app for mobile (Blockchain is compatible with Android and iOS platforms) and web (compatibility with Windows, Linux, and MacOS). Here, you can choose to program in all the most commonly employed languages: Python, Java, and Ruby. The popularity is backed up by the fact that not only can blockchain boast convenient APIs, but it also comes along with incredibly detailed documentation, which will help beginners figure out the complex topic of crypto wallets development. Particularly, developers can build their own API for a wallet with a unique set of features via the Blockchain. Some features are:

Bitcoinj is a great choice for those familiar with Java and all other JVM-compatible languages (such as C++, Ruby, and others). Being a cross-platform, open-source solution with well-written documentation, this set of tools provides developers with the following capabilities:

password encryption;

an ability to transact to and from a wallet;

balance status;

an ability to work with the TestNet3 and MainNet;

an ability to develop both web and virtual versions of a wallet;

an ability to create an account attached to a user device (there is no need to memorize the password in this case).

Coinbase provides yet another authentic set of tools for cross-platform development supported by JVM-compatible programming languages (for instance, Java, Python, and Ruby). It also has well structured and detailed documentation. With this SDK, wallet owners are not limited to Bitcoin in terms of digital payments. Moreover, Coinbase allows developers to create mobile solutions for iOS and Android.

Starting Cryptocurrency Wallet Development

The development of a crypto wallet is not a simple process. We strongly recommend having a crew of experienced developers on hand (especially if you are planning to present your product to the public). The minimum help you need must include frontend (with expertise in mobile development if need be) and backend developers, UI/UX designers, and testers (or Quality Assurance specialists).

Once you get your team in place and ready, these are the next steps to implement in the course of development:

connection of the necessary APIs (for authorization, push-notification, QR-code scanning abilities, balance view, etc.) along with tools from the SDK;

creation of a tool for processing incoming and outgoing transactions (for additional safety, you should implement this step with the help of special hedging platforms, such as Veritaseum or Hedgy);

testing all the functional elements of the wallet.

How To Program Your Own Cryptowallet?

If practically any beginner developer is capable of connecting APIs, then writing code for a wallet is not a simple task for even experienced programmers. If you would like to follow an example of a real case that describes each step of creating a wallet, you can find a comprehensive code alongside the author’s explanations here.

Does It Get Any Simpler Than That?

Have neither the time nor the effort to spare for the question, “How can I develop a mobile Bitcoin wallet single-handedly?” There are turn-key options, as well as a number of fully readymade products you can successfully employ in your blockchain platform (this is an especially optimal way for small and medium-sized businesses, where the company budget is not able to cover significant development expenses).

The most popular crypto wallet solutions that can be effortlessly integrated with blockchain applications are Bitcoin Core, Stripe (supports bitcoin payments), BitPay (works for the US residents), BitBay, and Coinify.

In Conclusion

We hope that the information in this article will help you answer the question, “How can I develop a cryptocurrency wallet app?” As you can see, the process of developing a crypto wallet requires a consistent approach and significant financial input from the get-go. So if you are not ready to manage all that, we recommend considering the solutions described in the previous paragraph.

On the other hand, a wallet built from scratch will provide you with many more capabilities for the implementation of specific functionality (among other things, you will not be attached to a certain country or cryptocurrency). So if you are planning to cover the widest TA possible, the development of an original product may be the only reasonable solution. If you are looking for a team to realize your concept, let’s do it together!

Our company has been specializing in cryptocurrency wallet development for several years now. We have already successfully implemented, and currently maintain, over a dozen blockchain-based solutions that use the wallets created by our employees. Developing cost-effective and multi-functional software is one of our fortes. How much does it cost exactly? Contact us – our contact information is available in the header of our website – to find out the answer to that question more.